Will Daylight Saving Time (DST) become permanent? One Arkansas legislator is pushing for it.
State Representative Johnny Rye (R-Trumann) submitted House Bill 1039 on Monday, December 19th. The title is “HB1039 – Concerning Daylight Saving Time; To Adopt Daylight Saving Time Permanently; and to Amend The Duties of The Secretary of State.”
The bill would make DST a law in Arkansas – if it is ever permitted on a Federal level. Rye tried pushing through a bill like this during the last session. It failed in a Senate committee.
If the bill becomes law this time, and if the Federal government allows for states to do so, Arkansas will do one or another thing, according to where we are in the calendar. If it’s during normal Daylight Saving Time – roughly between March and November – then the time won’t change back in November, as previous years have. If it’s during Standard Time – roughly between November and March – clocks will be moved forward one hour.
See the full text of the DST bill below:
State of Arkansas 94th General Assembly Regular Session, 2023
A Bill
HOUSE BILL 1039
By: Representative Rye
For An Act To Be Entitled
AN ACT CONCERNING DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME; TO ADOPT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME PERMANENTLY; TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
Subtitle
CONCERNING DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME; TO ADOPT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME PERMANENTLY; AND TO AMEND THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 1, Chapter 1, Subchapter 1, is amended to add an additional section to read as follows:
1-1-104. Daylight Saving Time Intent to adopt permanently when permitted by federal law.
(a) The General Assembly intends to adopt Daylight Saving Time as the permanent standard time of the State of Arkansas when the United States Government allows states to observe Daylight Saving Time permanently under 15 U.S.C. § 260a.
(b) (1) The Secretary of State shall continually monitor action by the: (A) United States Government and shall determine whether 15 U.S.C. § 260a has been amended to allow states to observe Daylight Saving Time permanently; and
(B) States bordering Arkansas and shall determine whether each of the bordering states has declared its intention to adopt Daylight Saving Time permanently.
2) If the Secretary of State determines that 15 U.S.C. § 260a has been amended to allow states to observe Daylight Saving Time permanently and that all of the states bordering Arkansas have declared their intention to adopt Daylight Saving Time permanently: (A) The Secretary of State shall inform the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, and the Director of the Bureau of Legislative Research within five (5) business days of making the determinations required under subdivision (b) (1) of this section; and (B) (i) The state shall observe Daylight Saving Time permanently as the standard time in the State of Arkansas.
(ii) If the determinations required under subdivision (b)(1) of this section are made on or after the second Sunday in March and before the first Sunday in November, the standard time of the state shall not change in November, and Daylight Saving Time shall be adopted permanently in the state.
(iii) If the determinations required under subdivision (b)(1) of this section are made on or after the first Sunday in November and before the second Sunday in March, at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March following the determinations required under subdivision (b) (1) of this section, the standard time of the State of Arkansas shall be advanced one (1) hour and remain there permanently.